The association between physical inactivity and other behavioural risk factors of the development of chronic non-communicative diseases among the students

Abstract

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the possible association between the physical inactivity and other behavioural risk factors of the development of chronic non- communicable diseases among the young persons. A total of 216 1-2 grade students at the mean age of 18.8±1.3 years including 136 women and 80 men educated at A.I. Evdokimov Moscow State Medical Stomatological University, Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, were recruited for the examination. The participants in the study were found to be at high risk of developing chronic non-communicable diseases associated with their behavioral patterns, such as smoking and delivery (37.5% among the young men and 42.6% among the women). The bioimpedance observations revealed the augmentation of the body fat weight, the reduction of muscle mass, and the impairment of basal metabolism under the influence of hypodynamia that was also responsible for the change of homeostasis parameters revealed based on the results of the complete blood cell count. The sex-specific differences and those associated with physical activity were apparent in the prevalence of selected risk factors. The majority of the men characterized by the normal level of physical activity show the lowest occurrence of nutrition-related risk factors. However, it is the girls having no signs of hypodynamia that most frequently tend to calculate the nutritional value of their diet and follow the healthy meal strategies. The girls exhibiting the signs of physical inactivity present with the enlarged hip circumference whereas the hypodynamic men tend to show the enlarged waist circumference. The present study has demonstrated that nutritional motivation of the students depends on the level of their physical activity and smoking habits. Low physical activity appears to be responsible for the changes in the body composition and affects the parameters of homeostasis determined from the complete blood cell count. At the same time, the physical exercises are known to either prevent or slow down the development of many chronic non-communicable diseases including cardiovascular disorders. This observation opens up the prospects for the prevention of such pathology by involving the students exhibiting the low level of physical activity in the physiotherapeutic programs. On the other hand, sports activities may contribute to socialization of the students by erasing the boundaries between those «fit» and «unfit» for such behaviour. Taken together, these considerations emphasize the necessity of the specialized programs for the students with the low level of physical activity and hypodynamia. The present study has demonstrated the signs of hypodynamia in 37.5 and 43.6% of the young men and women respectively.